More User Reviews:

Poured caramel in color with only a little head on top which didnt want to go away. Aroma is mostly of piney resin hops with some sweet malt showing through in the back ground, a touch of straw as well. A bit one sided without much complexity. Smells nice but not overly strong. Taste is of resin with a balance of malts. This one is not bitter at all but has the appropriate resin flavor that I like in this style. Nicely balanced in my opinion and very drinkable due to this. Mouthfeel is a little heavier than thin with a slight touch of oil from the hops making the flavor stick around.

Overall, nothing mind-blowing but Id have a couple more of these without complaint if I was forced too. Decent session brew for sure.

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: The head builds up tall, thick and foamy. It is light tan in color and has good retention. As it slowly fades down to thin covering, which lasts until the end, it makes some slick spotty lacing on the glass. Under the head is a nice amber colored liquid with very good clarity.

Smell: The aroma has a simple sweet floral hop bouquet.

Taste/Mouth feel: Its flavor has a mildly sweet malty body with nice floral and citrus hops that produce a soft mellow bitterness that balances the malt flavor well. The texture has a soft easy drinking feel with good carbonation and a medium body.

Notes: It had an enjoyable flavor and an easy drinking body. Overall solid.

Still working on finishing that holiday box, hmmm think I'll give this one a try. Pours redish amber, clear, white medium head, leaves decent, sticky lacing. Nose is malty, and spicy. this is decent stuff., nice malty backbone, citrusy hops midway and more spice, snap and crackle in the finish. This beer has a distinctive taste, a pleasant mouthfeel and that elusive characteristic, complexity. My favorite out of that box yet.

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a standard pint glass. Firm pour evokes 1 finger of bone white head that fades rapidly to a scant skim. No lace, color is a very dark amber.

Nose- Caramel, is very prevalent, some toffee, a bit of restrained hop. Caramel and toffee really dominate the nose.

Palate- Sweet roasted caramel, nuttiness. Mild hop bite in the finish. Hints of citrus if you search for it. No hints of alcohol. Tasty but a bit on sweet side. Hopping becomes a bit more apparent as it warms.

Mouthfeel- Bit dry syrupy, active carbonation.

Drinkability- Good

Haven't rated many ESBs. This one was very drinkable, albeit not very complex all in all a good value.

pours a clear dark copper color with little head that faded immediately to a ring of foam. decent lacing. the aroma is that of grassy, musty, earthy smell. a little bit of hops as well. not a lot of malt. the taste is kind of ruined by the high carbonation which really bites your tongue. really earthy, citrusy hop flavor. some grains. finishs with a noticeable hop taste. medium to light bodied. i would drink this again if given to me, but i would definately not buy this one again. to me its not even a real ESB. an ESB is supposed to get the bitterness from the malts, not the hops. this one is the other way around and is not very true to the style at all. but still somewhat of a drinkable beer.

This is pretty good but not outstanding. A mellow, easy-drinking bitter, perhaps not "extra special" enough to be deemed an ESB but do any US brewers sell their beer as just plain bitter? Coming out of the bottle it lacks the creamy mouthfeel that a bitter deserves. As such it is similar to an American pale ale without the severe hoppage. Nice amber color, small head, fruity flavors, certainly drinkable enough. Eh, I am nitpicking; this is enjoyable, and just fine, if not exciting.

Always nice to sample new beers with this sampler pack, pours beautifully a ruby caramel body and a large light off white head forms thick and rises like bread with yeast working it's magic. Lacing is even and fine with good detail, a nice looking brew for sure. Aroma has light caramel and mild floral and tame citrus tones with the moderate hop nose. Light but quaffable mix of hops and semi sweet malts. Nice bready touch of spiced caramel edge forms and then prickly but light bittering hop blend flows with more floral and citrus with a touch of earthiness. Mouthfeel is in the light to medium body range with sturdy but not overbearing carbonation. Overall drinkability is solid as a part of the mixed 12 packs but it's really nothing I'd ever search out on it's own.

Pours an orange/copper color with a small, rich, foamy head. Nice aroma of sweet roasted malt, brown sugar, a touch of hops, and a hint of maple. Taste is reminiscent of Fuller's ESB at first, but more abrasive. Begins nice and smooth, with a rich roasted malt character and a mellow sweetness. Hop character comes out later, with a good amount of bitterness and astringency. Mouthfeel is nice, smooth and creamy. One of the better beers from Saranac, I'm pleased to say.

The last beer i triewd out of the 12 beers of Christmas mix from the Matt Brewing Company. May have forgot this one at first but half way through I wanted to save this for last. Probably the best ESB i've tried from the short lists of this style. Great mouthfeel and nice blend of hops and fruits, just not as bitter as I expected or compared to their Pale Ale or IPA. One of the better Saranac's I've tried, however, I am retiring from this brewey for a while--Sam Adams' Christmas mix just arrived this week.

12 ounce bottle, part of Saranac's "12 Beers of Winter" sample pack. Served in a Sam Adams BL glass, the beer pours a dark amber color with an inch off-white head. Lacing and head retention are both good. The aroma is bready malt, nuts, and some butterscotch. It tastes like bready/biscuity malt, nuts, caramel, and a bit of fruit, and spicy and floral hops. There's also a slight bitter finish. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a little bit creamy and slick with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is good, it's smooth and easy to drink. Not a bad choice as a session brew. I like this beer, it's enjoyable to drink and I would buy this again. It's not the best ESB I've had, but it's good enough for me.

Pours a light copper with a decent head that fades pretty quickly. The smell is sweet malt and extremely light hops. The brew has a well balanced taste but it is a bit thin. The malt hits the tongue first and is followed by a very light hop character that is just enough to balance the brew out. It has a somewhat sticky and cloying mouthfeel but remains fairly drinkable. Not a great beer, just slightly better than average. This brew is about middle of the road for this brewery as well. Worth a try in the 12 bottle mixer I got but not really good enough to merit purchasing a sixer of it.

Pours a deep brownish red with an off white head and doesn't leave much lacing. The smell is nice, hops and citrus up front with some sweet notes. The taste isn't very bitter, starts hoppy at first with a full flavor and a somewhat bitter aftertaste. The mouthfeel is nice, good carbonation, a medium body. This one is an easy drinker, even though not a usual ESB, still enjoyable.

i have been assembling full lineups from breweries and randomly doin these horizontal tastings with my family. The saranac one from a couple weeks ago was more then epic as it took months to gather all of these, but it was a hell of a fun night! Big thanks to Alex for pulling through on the bulk of these

There was alot of carbonation visible streaming up from the bottom of the glass to replenish what little head there was. Decent side glass lace as well.

I really had to search for this one to be able to find any hint of anything really. It just came off way to light. When I was able to find an aroma it was most very light grain and wheat with a slight hint of earthy grass. This was your average ESB. And I mean average. The flavor was rather bland and non descript with really no defining characteristic to it. Some light cereal grain, and a touch of earthy grass again, but nothing really sticking out in any way. Almost forgotten as soon as it was sipped. It had a very nice amount of carbonation which was the only thing really keeping my intrest at that point

Overall this will be easily forgotten and I would not seek it out again. It was just way too average for me with nothing really sticking out or being different in any way.